Jon Lester Picked Up $47,000 Bar Tab To Celebrate His Time With Cubs

Pitcher Jon Lester loved his time in Chicago — so much so that he spent $47,000 to buy beer for Cubs fans.

Yes, you read that right. Lester spent $47,000. On beer.

Lester now pitches for the Nationals. The lefty knew his offer to pick up the tab for Cubs fans at a handful of bars last fall would be pricey. But not quite this pricey.

“God almighty, no,” he told reporters on a Zoom call. “I realized that Chicago likes beer, so that’s good. I didn’t know what to expect. I knew it was going to be fun, I knew we were going to have a good time with it. I wish I could have been there to be a part of it. But to see just the response of it was just awesome.

“A lot of great things happened. I’ve actually run into a few people, just so happened, that took part in it and they ended up buying me a beer. It’s cool that we reached a lot of people. With everything going on, it was nice to try to have somewhat of a normal weekend. No, I didn’t expect $40-something, but it was fun.”

Lester spent six years with the Cubs. He made it clear that, yes, he enjoyed his time there, but it was a whirlwind.

“Like I said in my press conference last year after my last start at Wrigley, I didn’t know six years could go by so fast,” Lester said. “I had so many good times there, I wish I could have just slowed down a little bit and enjoyed them; sat back a little bit and enjoyed them a little bit more.”

Kicking back and having a beer with Cubs fans is one way to relax.

Picking up the tab? Yeah, maybe not so much.